Sixth straight mock trial state title for Adams

Junior crew stuns Adams seniors, then beats St. Joseph's for title.

Junior crew stuns Adams seniors, then beats St. Joseph's for title.

March 09, 2006|JIM MEENAN Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND ---- They went to school all year with the defending state champions. But a team of Adams High School juniors who took second a year ago at the mock trial state tournament believed all along they could be state champs this year themselves. And Sunday, that's exactly what happened, as first, the Adams team of seven juniors -- Michael Smyth, Margaret Mansfield, Claire Alvis, Ethan Janson, Laura Jones, Emily Wein and Ryan Born -- beat the defending state champion Adams team of seniors, then beat neighboring St. Joseph's High School to claim the state title. Both were close matches. Adams thus had teams finish first and third, and St. Joseph's came home with the second- and fourth-place honors. "They are amazing. The kids thought that they would win right out of the gate," said Maggie Jones, attorney at Blackburn & Green and coach of the new state champions. "All year they were committed to winning state." And with good reason. The same group as sophomores took second a year ago. Jones was assisted by professor John Scanlan, Indiana University Law School in Bloomington, and Lucas Burkett, a recent Adams graduate who attends Holy Cross. Of the showdown between the top two Adams teams, "It was a hard-fought battle," said Judith Overmyer, teacher/sponsor, who oversees the entire Adams program. "It could not have been closer," agreed Jones. "It was very similar to the championship round a year ago." For Adams, it's the sixth straight state title the school has won, and the junior squad will now advance to the nationals as Indiana's representative in Oklahoma City in May. Adams champs from a year ago, who took third this time, were Eric Silvestri, Eric Blom, Emily Cahill, Jordan Hurwich, Avatar Joshi, Brendan Mahon and Stephen Veldman. St. Joseph's second-place team consisted of Peter Gray, Rebecca Jones, Philip Langthorne, Sarah Matthys, Clare Mundy, Drew Olson, Claire Roboski and Zachary Stangebye, while its fourth-place team consisted of Claire Fallon, Neehar Garg, Alan Huang, Rob Jones, Kiff Magor, Caroline Shakour and Ping Wong. Other local teams with high finishes included Penn High School, which took sixth and 12th; Adams freshmen teams, which took seventh and ninth; and New Prairie High School, which took 10th. Adams sophomores also had teams take 13th and 14th. St. Joseph's Langthorne and Adams' Silvestri were the two point getters, respectively, in the "most effective attorney" category. Adams' Born was the leading point getter in the "most effective witness" category. Staff writer Jim Meenan: jmeenan@sbtinfo.com (574) 235-6342